Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

Boffins open 'space travel bureau': Come relax on exoplanet Kepler-16b, says NASA

With neat posters in a 1930s style

Pics NASA appears to be transforming itself into an intergalactic travel agency after issuing a series of cheery posters of exoplanets.

"Kepler-186f is the first Earth-size planet discovered in the potentially 'habitable zone' around another star, where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface," said NASA's blurb.

Visit Kepler poster by NASA

Spacey: Kepler-186f looks like a fun place to take the family for a long weekend

"Its star is much cooler and redder than our Sun," continued the Exoplanet Travel Bureau's happy-clappy description of the Red Planet. "If plant life does exist on a planet like Kepler-186f, its photosynthesis could have been influenced by the star's red-wavelength photons, making for a colour palette that's very different than the greens on Earth."

"This discovery was made by Kepler, NASA's planet hunting telescope."

Visit HD 40307g poster by NASA

Splat: Don't actually try to visit HD 40307 like this, kids

"Twice as big in volume as the Earth," said NASA, "HD 40307g straddles the line between "Super-Earth" and "mini-Neptune" and scientists aren't sure if it has a rocky surface or one that's buried beneath thick layers of gas and ice. One thing is certain though: at eight times the Earth's mass, its gravitational pull is much, much stronger."

Translation: you'll need the physique of Arnold Schwarzenegger just to raise your head. If you don't freeze to death first, that is.

Visit Kepler16b poster by NASA

Sunny: Do my bum shadows look big on this world?

"Like Luke Skywalker's planet "Tatooine" in Star Wars, Kepler-16b orbits a pair of stars," said NASA's H2G2-style guide. "Depicted here as a terrestrial planet, Kepler-16b might also be a gas giant like Saturn. Prospects for life on this unusual world aren't good, as it has a temperature similar to that of dry ice.

"But the discovery indicates that the movie's iconic double-sunset is anything but science fiction," it concluded.

Well, they're the people who should know. ®

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like